Skip to main content

H. Moser makes rose gold rival to Rolex’s Rainbow Daytona

60 baguette sapphires and a flying tourbillon: moser's new rainbow streamliner

H Moser Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton Rainbow
H Moser & Cie

H. Moser & Cie. has introduced its most ornate Streamliner so far with the new Tourbillon Skeleton Rainbow edition. This watch directly competes with Rolex’s Rainbow Daytona in the very expensive sports watch category.

Available in rose gold (CHF 175,000) or stainless steel (CHF 125,000), the 40mm watch is a showcase of both watchmaking and jewelry skills. The bezel is set with 60 carefully selected baguette-cut colored sapphires.

Recommended Videos

The Streamliner’s cushion-shaped case created unique challenges for gem-setters. Each sapphire had to be chosen for its color to create a rainbow gradient around the bezel, and each one also had to be cut to a different size to fit the case design.

At the center of this watch is Moser’s skeletonized HMC 814 automatic movement, visible through the open dial. The large one-minute flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock serves as both a technical feature and a visual focal point.

A look at the back of the watch reveals similar attention to detail. The Moser-branded rose gold rotor is skeletonized, exposing the gears, wheels, bridges, and springs of the movement underneath.

Production numbers will be limited, not by a set amount, but by the time and complexity required to make each one. This highlights the skill involved in crafting every piece.

The Rainbow Streamliner stands apart from Moser’s usual simple design, which is known for its fumé dials and minimalist approach. Still, it maintains the brand’s focus on independent watchmaking, while entering a category associated with brands like Rolex and its Rainbow Daytona watch that has become highly sought after on the resale market.

With its integrated bracelet, movement finishing, and elaborate gem-setting, the Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton Rainbow is a contender in the growing group of high-jewelry sports watches. These timepieces combine technical expertise with unmistakable luxury.

Andrew McGrotty
Andrew is a full-time freelance writer with expertise in the luxury sector. His content is informative and always on trend.
Topics
Rolex at 120 years: A legacy of innovation and timeless craftsmanship
From 1905 to today: How Rolex spent 120 years perfecting the art of precision watchmaking and creating timeless icons
Fellows rolex daytona spotlight

For 120 years, Rolex has reigned supreme in the industry, standing as a pinnacle of precision and luxury in watchmaking. Founded in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis, the brand quickly rose to prominence through relentless innovation and unparalleled quality. Unlike mass-produced watches, every Rolex piece boasts meticulous craftsmanship — each component designed and assembled to meet the highest standards.

The secret to Rolex’s success lies in its in-house manufacturing and controlling all aspects of production, forging its own gold alloys to create proprietary movements. The Oyster case took waterproof watchmaking to new levels in 1926, while the Perpetual rotor was introduced in 1931, opening up the era of modern self-winding mechanisms. A century later, Rolex movements still undergo rigorous testing with Superlative Chronometer certification, ensuring accuracy within -2/+2 seconds per day —  a stat which far exceeds industry standards.

Read more
U-Boat’s extreme dive watch costs 85% less than Rolex equivalent
Italian microbrand creates titanium leviathan rivaling world's most extreme dive watches
U Boat Profondo press image

Italian watchmaker U-Boat has entered the ultra-extreme diving watch segment with the Profondo 10,000 MT, a titanium timepiece boasting 10,000-meter water resistance that directly challenges Rolex's Deepsea Challenge while costing less than 15% of its market price.
The extreme diving category emerged from record-breaking expeditions, including Omega's prototype Seamaster Planet Ocean watches that accompanied the Five Deeps Expedition in 2019, diving to the bottom of the Mariana Trench at 10,935 meters. This narrowly surpassed James Cameron's 2012 descent using an experimental Rolex, ultimately leading to the Crown's first production titanium model, the Deepsea Challenge, with 11,000-meter water resistance.
While Rolex's Deepsea Challenge retails for $27,600 when available through authorized dealers and commands double that on the secondary market, U-Boat's Profondo 10,000 MT offers comparable deep-diving capability at a fraction of the cost.
The Italian timepiece features a massive 46mm wide by 27mm tall titanium case claimed to withstand 1,000 times Earth's atmospheric pressure. Following the same material logic as Rolex and Omega, U-Boat recognized that stainless steel would be too heavy for such extreme specifications, necessitating titanium construction for theoretical wearability.
The watch incorporates a titanium unidirectional bezel holding a 9.7mm domed sapphire crystal. While lacking the ceramic insert and luminescent pip found on the Rolex Deepsea Challenge, the dive scale is directly etched into the bezel. Despite being four millimeters narrower than the Rolex, U-Boat maintains its 10,000-meter resistance claim.
U-Boat's unique approach appears in the dial design, featuring an original three-layer sandwich construction rather than copying established dive watch aesthetics. The metal layers are laser cut and aged with oxidizing acids to resemble shipwreck artifacts, creating a distinctive patinated appearance that aligns with U-Boat's ostentatious Italian design philosophy.
Applied titanium hour markers filled with beige Super-LumiNova complement 1970s-style diving hands differentiated by size and color. A chapter ring featuring hexagonal bolt markers evokes submarine hull construction, reinforcing the watch's deep-sea narrative.
The Profondo 10,000 MT includes both an aged Italian leather strap with titanium double-pin buckle and an additional three-link titanium bracelet, providing versatility absent from the Rolex offering.
Powered by the reliable Sellita SW200 automatic movement, the watch demonstrates that extreme water resistance capabilities need not require luxury pricing or celebrity endorsements.
At $4,200, the U-Boat Profondo 10,000 MT proves that microbrand innovation can challenge established players in specialized segments, offering genuine extreme diving capability without the premium associated with Swiss luxury brands.

Read more
Timex’s new Kermit and Smurf watches are made for Rolex nerds
French artist seconde/seconde/ creates playful Rolex tributes with American watchmaker
Timex smurfs roblex watch

Timex has released the fourth installment of its cult IYKYK series with French horological artist seconde/seconde/, introducing limited edition homages to two beloved discontinued Rolex Submariner models that have achieved legendary status among collectors.
The collaboration features playful interpretations of the "Kermit" (reference 16610LV) and "Smurf" (reference 116619LB), two iconic Submariners known by their colorful nicknames derived from popular culture. These affordable alternatives capture the essence of watches that now command premium prices on the secondary market.
French artist Romaric André, known professionally as seconde/seconde/, has built a reputation for irreverent dial treatments that transform ordinary timepieces into sought-after pieces. His IYKYK series with Timex specifically targets watch enthusiasts familiar with Rolex's nickname culture, where models earn monikers like Batman, Pepsi, and Hulk based on their color schemes.
The "Kermit" homage features a cartoonish frog footprint as its seconds hand, referencing the original's distinctive black dial and green bezel combination produced from 2003 to 2010. The "Smurf" variant showcases a red and white mushroom seconds hand, nodding to both the animated characters' homes and the original white gold Submariner's bright blue dial and bezel from 2008 to 2020.
Built on Timex's reliable Q platform, both watches feature 38mm cases with friction-fit rotating 12-hour bezels, quartz movements with accessible battery hatches, faux-integrated steel bracelets, and generously domed acrylic crystals. The familiar Q Timex DNA ensures dependable performance while keeping costs accessible.
Limited production adds collectibility, with the Kermit restricted to 1,145 pieces and the Smurf to 1,075 pieces, each individually numbered on the caseback. Despite seemingly large production numbers, previous IYKYK releases have sold quickly due to their cult following among watch enthusiasts.
The series succeeds because it operates on multiple levels. Casual observers see colorful watches with whimsical cartoon elements, while informed collectors recognize clever references to some of horology's most coveted timepieces. This dual appeal has made seconde/seconde/ collaborations highly sought after in the affordable watch segment.
At $249 each, both models are available through Timex and Huckberry, offering an accessible entry point into the world of Rolex-inspired design. For Rolex enthusiasts priced out of the genuine articles or those seeking conversation starters that celebrate watch culture, these limited editions provide perfect alternatives that wear their inspiration proudly while offering genuine Timex reliability and charm.

Find out more information here.

Read more